Tom Lemming Talks Notre Dame Recruiting...

Long-time college football recruiting "analyst/expert" Tom Lemming -- spent some time with the gang at WSBT 960 AM's WeekDay Sportsbeat to talk about the 2011 Notre Dame recruiting class.  Here's a link to the radio interview:

LINK:  TOM LEMMING TALKS NOTRE DAME

Parade All Americans -- The Original!!!

To us "old-timers" -- back in the day -- the truly great high school football and basketball players were named "Parade All-Americans."  Parade magazine -- the long-time Sunday supplement found in many weekend newspapers around the country -- was the first to honor America's best high school athletes.  Today -- for the 48th time -- the Parade All-Americans were named for 2011.  And, three high school football players, who've signed a National Letter of Intent to play for the University of Notre Dame -- were named to the team:

• Kyle Brindza, Kicker
• Ben Koyack, TE
• Ishaq Williams, OL

LINK:  2011 PARADE ALL-AMERICANS

Is This the Next "Face" of Notre Dame Football?

I watched with great interest, the interviews of the five "early enrollees" conducted by UND.COM's Jack Nolan this week.  And, after the twenty-five minutes it took to do just that -- I walked away with this thought;  Aaron Lynch will become the next face of Notre Dame football.  I won't say anymore on this subject right now -- other than "judge for yourself."  Here are the interviews of the first five members of Notre Dame's #1 ranked recruiting class (thanks Tom Lemming!) -- to arrive on campus:

LINK:  GO TO PAGE 3 -- TO FIND LINKS

National Signing Day: The Experts Rank!

Thought we'd take a quick look around the "recruiting" expert landscape and check in on what they think of Notre Dame's recruiting class.  YOU'RE GOING TO BE FIRED UP WHEN YOU SEE A COUPLE OF THE RANKINGS!  First, let's take a look at what Coach Kelly thinks:

LINK:  COACH KELLY -- RECRUITING RECAP

LINK:  COACH KELLY -- SIGNING DAY:  PRESS CONFERENCE

LINK:  ESPN CLASS RANKING

LINK:  RIVALS CLASS RANKING

LINK:  SCOUT CLASS RANKING

LINK:  TOM LEMMING / MAXPREPS CLASS RANKING

Team USA's Notre Dame -- Signing Event!

This had to be quite a moment for these five young men.  The folks at the USA vs. The World game did a wonderful job this morning of parading up the players to sign their National Letter of Intent.  When you watch the video -- note the Notre Dame Victory March playing in the background!  Here's the five young men involved in this event;  George Atkinson III, Josh Atkinson, Matt Hegarty, Anthony Rabasa and Stephon Tuitt.  The game kicks off this evening at 8:30 PM EST -- you can watch it here LIVE online -- just click on the link below:

LINK:  WATCH TEAM USA TAKE & THEIR FIVE IRISH COMMITS -- LIVE!

Notre Dame's Football Recruiting Class -- 2011

Brian Kelly's first full-year recruiting effort payed off quite nicely for the Fighting Irish Football program.  They hail from 14 states -- and represent some of the best talent at their position.  Recruiting "experts" -- generally rank this class among the very best in the country.  Here's a list by state -- of where these young men hail from -- and at what position group Notre Dame has recruited them to play; Skill (QB, WR, RB, DB, K), Big Skill (TE, LB, DE) or Power (OL, DL). And, we've included a link to their highlight video -- just click on their name:






CALIFORNIA -- 3 athletes

• George Atkinson, III -- SKILL
• Josh Atkinson -- SKILL
• Troy Niklas -- BIG SKILL

CONNECTICUT -- 1 athlete

• Conor Hanratty -- POWER

FLORIDA -- 2 athletes

• Aaron Lynch -- BIG SKILL / POWER
• Anthony Rabasa -- BIG SKILL

GEORGIA -- 1 athlete

• Stephon Tuitt -- POWER

 
INDIANA -- 2 athletes

• Nick Martin -- POWER
• Tony Springmann -- POWER

 
ILLINOIS -- 1 athlete

• Davaris Daniels -- SKILL 

MICHIGAN -- 1 athlete

• Kyle Brindza -- SKILL

NEW MEXICO -- 1 athlete

• Matt Hegarty -- POWER

NEW YORK -- 1 athlete

• Ishaq Williams -- BIG SKILL 

NORTH CAROLINA -- 2 athletes

• Ben Councell -- BIG SKILL
• Mathias Farley -- SKILL

OHIO -- 4 athletes

• Brad Carrico -- POWER
• Jarrett Grace -- BIG SKILL
  
• Eilar Hardy -- SKILL
• Chase Hounshell -- POWER

PENNSYLVANIA -- 1 athlete

• Ben Koyack -- BIG SKILL

SOUTH CAROLINA -- 1 athlete

• Everett Golson -- SKILL

TEXAS -- 2 athletes

• Jalen Brown -- SKILL
• Cam McDaniel -- SKILL

National Signing Day: Notre Dame Recruiting

As of right now, 12:01 AM EST on Wednesday, February 2nd -- the top high school football players in America can begin faxing in their National Letter of Intents to the University of Notre Dame!!!  The LIVE coverage begins at 7:00 AM EST on UND.COM -- followed by ESPNU's coverage which begins at 9 AM EST.  University of Notre Dame Football Coach, Brian Kelly is expected to meet with the media at 1 PM EST to talk about the recruiting class.  The timing of this day couldn't be better for all of us "snowbound" Irish fans in the Midwest.  Here's the NATIONAL SIGNING DAY schedule for Notre Dame fans -- along with links to everything you'll need to follow all of the national recruiting services.   It's going to be fun -- GO IRISH!!!

7:OO AM EST -- LINK:  UND.COM'S - NATIONAL SIGNING DAY @ NOTRE DAME

9:00 AM EST -- LINK:  ESPNU'S LIVE COVERAGE OF NATIONAL SIGNING DAY

1:00 PM EST -- LINK:  COACH KELLY'S NEWS CONFERENCE

2:20 PM EST -- LINK:  COACH KELLY'S RADIO INTERVIEW WITH RIVALS

LINK:  UND.COM'S NATIONAL SIGNING DAY CENTRAL

LINK:  ESPN'S LIST OF THE TOP 150 PLAYERS IN THE COUNTRY

LINK:  ESPN'S CURRENT RANKING OF NOTRE DAME'S RECRUITING CLASS 

LINK:  TOM LEMMING / MAXPREPS RECRUITING RANKINGS

LINK:  SCOUT'S RECRUITING RANKINGS

LINK:  RIVALS RECRUITING RANKINGS

LINK:  UND.COM -- RECRUITING TWITTER FEED

ND Picks Dolly Duffy to Replace Chuck Lennon

Dolly Duffy grew up in an Irish family in South Dakota.  In September of 1980, Dolly made the trek east to the University of Notre Dame -- for her first day of college -- to a campus she had never seen before.  Four years later, she became a member of the Notre Dame Alumni Association -- having graduated as a proud member of the Class of 1984.  Now, twenty-seven years later -- Dolly Duffy has been given the great responsibility of leading the greatest university alumni association on the planet -- the Notre Dame Alumni Association.   After a global search to find a replacement for the retiring Chuck Lennon -- Notre Dame announced Dolly's appointment, this afternoon, as Executive Director of the Alumni Association and Associate Vice President of University Relations.  The Notre Dame Alumni Association is charged with engaging the more than 132,000 living alumni and their 276 clubs around the world.  Congratulations Dolly!  Here's a link to Notre Dame's release:

LINK:  REPLACING A LEGEND!

Davaris Daniels' -- Monster Dunk!

If you'd like to get a "sneak-preview" of the type of athlete that Notre Dame football is recruiting -- take a look at this YouTube video of Davaris Daniels -- a wide receiver out of the Chicago area who will be signing with our Fighting Irish tomorrow.  It's going to be fun watching this young man wearing a gold-helmet!  Here's the link:

LINK:  YEAH -- HE'S COMMITTED TO NOTRE DAME!

Big Day Tomorrow for ND Football Fans!

It's National Signing Day -- the day that America's top high school football players make their "commitment" to their school of choice.  Recruiting experts are predicting a HAPPY DAY tomorrow for Irish fans -- despite the heavy snow predicted for many of us in the Great Lakes region.  As of right now, the folks at UND.COM are still planning on producing exclusive video-coverage beginning at 7 AM EST tomorrow morning! Be sure to check back with the ND GO IRISH BLOG -- first thing in the morning -- with links and schedules to all of the programming covering National Signing Day.

LINK:  UND.COM COVERAGE OF NATIONAL SIGNING DAY

A Historic First for Notre Dame Athletics!!!

This is the first time in Notre Dame's storied athletic history that its Men's Basketball Team and Men's Hockey Team are ranked in the Top Ten in the country at the same time!  Mike Brey's Irish are ranked #9 in the Coaches Poll and Jeff Jackson's Irish are ranked #10.  In addition, this marks the first time in nine years that both of Notre Dame's basketball teams are ranked in the Top Ten at the same time.  Muffet McGraw's Irish are ranked #8 -- making Notre Dame one of three schools in the country who have their men's and women's basketball teams ranked in the Top Ten this week!  The other two schools;  UCONN and Duke.  A big thank you to ND GO IRISH BLOG regular contributor, Dr. Jim Clancy -- for alerting us to this fact!

Notre Dame Stadium -- The Next Generation!

I found this great work @ NDNATION.COM -- as you can see -- an "architect" who doubles as a ND ALUM and Irish football fan went to work at what the next generation of Notre Dame Stadium might look like.  I for one -- think it's AWESOME!  I hope you enjoy the artist renderings -- along with a link to the creator's rationale for his design:

LINK:  WE SHOULD DO THIS NOW!!!

Irish Now Up to #8 in Coaches Poll!

Mike Brey's Fighting Irish are now receiving the respect they deserve.  This morning's polls came out and the Coaches poll has the Irish at #8 while the AP (media) poll has ND at #9.  The Irish play again this Thursday in Chicago - against DePaul.  Here's a link to the college basketball rankings released this morning:

LINK:  COLLEGE BASKETBALL RANKINGS

LINK:  SAGARIN'S COMPUTER RANKINGS -- COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Tuitt Talks to Blue & Gold Illustrated

Notre Dame fans will enjoy this interview of FIVE STAR defensive end Stephon Tuitt -- who's in Austin, TX preparing to play in the USA vs. The World football game on Wednesday, February 2nd.  Tuitt is playing for TEAM USA along with fellow Irish "verbal" commits; Matt Hegarty, George Atkinson III and Anthony Rabasa.  Tuitt is generally regarded as one of the top 25 high school football players in the country -- and his recruitment hasn't been easy for Coach Kelly and the Irish.  Looks like things are all good between ND and Mr. Tuitt!  Also -- Notre Dame Central's Keith Arnold posted a second video of Tuitt today -- from the USA vs. The World practice -- you'll want to see this as well!

LINK:  TUITT INTERVIEW

LINK:  TUITT @ PRACTICE

Notre Dame to Evacuate Students from Egypt!

In response to the U.S. State Department's recommendation to evacuate all Americans from the rapidly deteriorating situation in Egypt -- the University of Notre Dame announced this afternoon that they would be evacuating the 12 Notre Dame students involved in the study-abroad program at the American University of Cairo -- immediately.  Here's a link to a story written by ND student, Veronica Vos (Los Angeles, CA) who was one of the 12 students:

LINK:  A ND STUDENT TALKS ABOUT THE PROTESTS

Video of the Year -- Digger Dancin'

Folks, if you haven't seen this -- former Notre Dame Fighting Irish basketball coach Digger "Dancin" Phelps was at it again yesterday at the University of Kansas.  He even broke out Michael Jackson's trademark "glove" and "moon walk."  Digger, now an ESPN college basketball analyst -- thinks he can dance -- you be the judge!  Here's a link to the video -- a MUST SEE CLASSIC!

LINK:  DIGGER DANCIN'

Notre Dame Takes on America -- ESPNU!

The Fighting Irish of Notre Dame men's lacrosse team is in Orlando, FL today to take on Team USA, and their goalie Scott Rogers (former Irish star), in the Champion Challenge @ Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex.  Notre Dame, ranked #7 in the pre-season polls -- will be facing the U.S. National Team and their "guy in goal" in this exhibition game.  The game will be played at 1:30 PM ET today - but won't be televised until 10 PM EST tonight on ESPNU!  Here's a link to a video of ND's arrival at Walt Disney World.

LINK:  NOTRE DAME TAKES ON AMERICA!

Ian Williams -- Did the Gold Helmet Proud!

Notre Dame senior, Ian Williams -- played his last football game wearing the iconic GOLD HELMET of the Fighting Irish, yesterday afternoon in Mobile, AL.  Ian was the lone member of Notre Dame's senior class invited to play in the 2011 Senior Bowl -- a game coached by NFL coaching staffs.  The week in Mobile with all of the NFL scouts around -- along with his "golden" play in yesterday's game (AP photo of Ian sacking Alabama QB Greg McElroy) will serve as a positive forerunner to this week's NFL DRAFT COMBINE in Indianapolis.  Here's a link to today's South Bend Tribune story about Ian -- along with a link to a scouting report on Ian's play at the Senior Bowl:

LINK:  THE GOLD HELMET "SHINES" @ SENIOR BOWL!

LINK:  I. WILLIAMS IMPROVES DRAFT STOCK!

Fit To Be Tied! -- Notre Dame vs. Miami, OH

Jeff Jackson's #9 ranked Fighting Irish took on the #13 ranked Miami Redhawks this weekend at Notre Dame -- and both games (Friday & Saturday) ended tied after regulation and OT!  Friday's game was tied at 5-5 before Miami won the "shootout" for the extra point in the CCHA standings 3-2.  Saturday's game ended tied at 2-2 before Notre Dame won the shootout 1-0.  Here's a link to the South Bend Tribune's stories on both games:

LINK:  SATURDAY'S GAME -- IRISH WINS SHOOTOUT

LINK:  FRIDAY'S GAME -- MIAMI WINS SHOOTOUT

Justin Tuck -- "Wired For Sound" @ Pro Bowl

Former University of Notre Dame football star, Justin Tuck has been in Honolulu this week preparing for today's 2011 NFL Pro Bowl.  The New York Giants star defensive end was "wired" at practice -- so NFL fans could get "inside" the game.  Tuck is the lone "DOMER" in today's game -- he'll be wearing #91 for the NFC.  FOX's TV coverage begins at 7 PM EST today.  Here's a link to Justin's feature on the NFL Network and a link to the NFL Pro Bowl website which has a number of entertaining stories:

LINK:  TUCK -- WIRED FOR SOUND @ PRO BOWL PRACTICE

LINK:  NFL PRO BOWL WEBSITE

Brown and Bettis -- NFL Hall of Fame Finalists

The NFL recently announced their "finalists" for the NFL Hall of Fame's Class of 2011 and two former Irish stars were among the 17 finalists -- Tim Brown and Jerome Bettis.  For Brown, this is his second year of Hall of Fame eligibility for the former Heisman Trophy winner.  He's a nine-time Pro Bowler, ranks fourth all-time with 1,094 receptions, and is sixth all-time with 100 receiving touchdowns.  This is Jerome Bettis' first year of eligibility for the NFL Hall of Fame.  The 2006 Super Bowl Champion, ranks fifth on the NFL's all time rushing list with 13,662 yards in 13 seasons.  To be elected into the NFL Hall of Fame you must have received approval from 80% of the NFL's 44-person committee -- which will gather in Dallas on February 5th to vote.   There is an online NFL Hall of Fame "Fan's Choice" voting contest going on right now -- it won't influence the committe's vote -- but, it's fun.  Here's a link to where you can vote for Tim and Jerome:

LINK:  VOTE FOR TIM BROWN AND JEROME BETTIS!

Ian Williams Playing in Senior Bowl Today!

Today will be the last time Ian Williams will wear his "GOLD HELMET" in a football game.  Williams, Notre Dame's lone representative in the Senior Bowl -- has spent the week under the tutelage of the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals coaching staff.  His position coach, Jay Hayes -- now in his eighth year with the Bengals -- was a Grad Assistant on Lou Holtz's staff during the 1988 National Championship season.  Kick-off is set for 4:00 PM EST today -- on the NFL NETWORK.  Ian's playing for the NORTH and will be wearing uniform #96.  Here's a link to William's profile for the Senior Bowl and a link to a Mock Draft analysis of his NFL Draft value:

LINK:  IAN WILLIAMS -- SENIOR BOWL PROFILE 

LINK:  IAN WILLIAMS -- NFL DRAFT VALUE

Taking Your iPad to Class @ Notre Dame

Notre Dame Assistant Professor Corey Angst (photo) - in the Mendoza College of Business, is receiving more and more national attention for his move to use iPads as textbooks in his classroom.  The Wall Street Journal is the latest to take notice to what's going on at Notre Dame.  Here's a link to the story:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S IPAD CLASS

Six Coming Back for a Fifth in Gold Helmet!

Brian Kelly released the names of the players who have been invited to come back for a "fifth year" in the ND football program yesterday.  They are as follows;  Taylor Dever (OT), Andrew Nuss (OG), Gary Gray (DB), Harrison Smith (S), David Ruffer (PK) and Mike Ragone (TE).  This starts a "naming convention" that I'm not fond of called "FIFTH YEAR SENIORS."  Typically, every ND football player who's granted a fifth year has graduated on time and haS enrolled in grad school to continue their playing eligibility.  Thus -- they're FIRST YEAR GRAD STUDENTS.  I'd really like to see Notre Dame's Sports Information Department begin using this "description" when identifying these players.  Anyway -- here's a link to the South Bend Tribune story on the fifth year players:

LINK:  TAKING THE FIFTH

ND Athlete -- National Swimmer of the Week!

Frank Dyer (Loudonville, NY), was named the Counsilman-Hunsaker National College Swimmer of the Week by CollegeSwimming.com -- for his five wins in a meet against Northwestern and Cleveland State on January 12th.  The freshman was also named Big East Conference Swimmer of the Week.  Congratulations Frank!  Here's a a link to the UND.COM story:

LINK:  IRISH ATHLETE NAMED NATIONAL SWIMMER OF THE WEEK!

11 Wins By 30 or More Points This Season!

Muffet McGraw's #9 Fighting Irish have "quietly" made a statement -- half way through this basketball season.  The other night, one of the "experts" at ESPN predicted Notre Dame would be a FINAL FOUR team -- citing their dominating wins and their performance against UCONN.  This past week, the Irish destroyed #23 St. John's 69-36 -- their eleventh win by more than 30 points this season -- establishing a new school record!  The Irish are off until this Saturday when the travel to Philadelphia to take on Villanova.  Here's a link to video highlights of the win over St. John's:

LINK:  IRISH WIN BIG!

Weis' Former Players -- Have His Back!

Frankly, I was glad to see today's article in the South Bend Tribune.  From what you hear, Charlie Weis made his share of enemies over his five-years at Notre Dame -- the media turned on him pretty quick (note the Sporting News cover).  I for one -- and I might be on a short list -- am thankful for all Charlie did for our program.  He proved that Notre Dame can recruit elite talent again -- Bob Davie and Ty Willingham weren't convinced this could be done.  He also brought some "bravado" back into this program -- however short lived.  And, he brought back what I like to call "Notre Dame Moments" -- like "Pass Right."  A big thank-you to ND GO IRISH BLOG regular contributor, Dr. Jim Clancy for alerting me to this story.  Today's South Bend Tribune interviewed a number of former players -- now in the NFL -- who played for Charlie at Notre Dame -- here's a link to the article:

LINK:  CHARLIE'S BOYS -- HAVE HIS BACK

Irish Now Ranked #6 in the RPI Rankings!

Notre Dame's big road win last night over #2 ranked Pittsburgh -- has vaulted them to #6 in the all important RPI rankings for college basketball.  This ranking system is used heavily by the NCAA Tournament Committee each season.  BIG, BIG, BIG WIN last night!  Here's a link to the South Bend Tribune story, the Pittsburgh Gazette story and the link to the RPI rankings:




LINK:  SBT -- IRISH UPSET #2 PITT!

LINK:  PITTSBURGH GAZETTE -- SLOW COOKED IRISH STEW

LINK:  IRISH RANKED #6 IN LATEST RPI RANKINGS

We Filled Notre Dame Stadium Today!

The ND GO IRISH BLOG reached the 80,579 UNIQUE VISITOR mark at 7:09 AM EST this morning -- when a Notre Dame fan in London, England logged onto the site!  Some may recall, this was a stated goal -- to fill every seat in Notre Dame Stadium (capacity; 80,579).  Well, we accomplished this on January 25, 2011 -- exactly 366 days after the blog's launch on January 24, 2010.

During this past year "and a day" -- Notre Dame fans from all 50 states and now 127 countries have made the ND GO IRISH BLOG one of their "must visits" on the web.  THANK YOU!!!!

The next goal is to exceed the 109,901 unique visitor mark -- which just happens to be the "stated" capacity of the University of Michigan's football stadium -- the largest seating capacity in football.

ND's Chief Investment Officer on CNBC

Scott Malpass '84 & '86, the Chief Investment Officer at the University of Notre Dame -- made an appearance on CNBC's Squawk Box yesterday -- to talk about the university's $6.8 billion endowment -- and their investment mix.  Scott has led ND's Investment Office since 1989 -- taking over an endowment that totaled $425 million at the time.  He's a real "superstar" in the world of managing endowments.  Here's a link to yesterday's interview.

LINK:  SCOTT MALPASS ON CNBC

Huge Win for the IRISH over #2 Pitt!

The University of Notre Dame "shocked the basketball world" this evening with a 56-51 win over the #2 ranked team in the country -- the Pitt Panthers!  Taking a page out of last year's playbook -- running the BURN OFFENSE -- the Irish controlled the tempo of the game from start to finish.  This is a huge win for the IRISH and their RPI ranking for the NCAA Tournament.  Beating the #2 team in the nation -- on their home court -- HUGE!  This marks the fourth win this year for the Irish -- against a top-twenty ranked team!!!  And, they did it without Abromaitis (who averages 15 pts. a game) making a field goal -- think about that!  WAY TO GO IRISH!  Here's a link to ESPN's box score and story:

LINK:  ESPN RECAP:  IRISH WIN!!!

The Next Great Notre Dame Movie?

Production is scheduled to begin SOON, on the Notre Dame campus, for a movie tentatively entitled "Two Miles From Home."  The film will detail the inspiring recovery of Haley Scott, a Notre Dame swimmer who was on the team's charter bus when it crashed on the Indiana Toll Road in January 1992 -- just two miles from the Notre Dame campus. Two Irish swimmers, Megan Beeler and Colleen Hipp, were killed in that accident and Scott was left facing a life of paralysis.  Yet, after six back operations and physical / emotional hardships Haley was able to swim once again for the Irish -- just 21 months later!  I'm quite sure Haley's book; "What Though the Odds" -- inspired this movie.  I frankly like that title better for the movie!!!  Here's a replay of a WNDU-TV story and a link to where you can buy Hayley's book:

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S NEXT RUDY?

LINK:  "WHAT THOUGH THE ODDS" -- HALEY'S STORY

Lemming Ranks ND's Recruiting Class #1!

College football recruiting guru, Tom Lemming -- released his weekly rankings of the top recruiting classes in the country this morning and guess who's at the top of the list -- the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame!!!  Now, the list will probably change a couple more times before next Tuesday's National Signing Day.  But -- it's encouraging!!!!  Here's his top twenty:

1. Notre Dame
2. Texas
3. Alabama
4. Florida State
5. LSU
6. Southern California
7. Ohio State
8. Clemson
9. Auburn
10. South Carolina
11. Florida
12. Georgia
13. Oregon
14. Illinois
15. California
16. Arkansas
17. Virginia
18. Washington
19. North Carolina
20. Wisconsin

Here's a link to Tom Lemming's blog -- if you'd like to subscribe:

LINK:  TOM LEMMING'S BLOG

Notre Dame Football Awards Show -- VIDEO

The 2010 Notre Dame Football Awards Show took place Saturday night at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center -- and the event "kicked-off" with a video of the 2010 season.  I thought you would enjoy seeing this -- here's a link:

LINK:  2010 ND FOOTBALL AWARDS SHOW VIDEO

Notre Dame Hoops on ESPN Tonight

Mike Brey's 15th ranked Fighting Irish take on the #2 ranked Pitt Panthers this evening -- on national television!  ND needs a big win on the road -- and tonight would be the perfect time to do just that.  The game tips off at 7 PM EST on ESPN's Big Monday.  Here's a link to UND.COM's notes for tonight's game:

LINK:  UND.COM -- IRISH TAKE ON THE PANTHERS

PHOTO OF THE DAY: Shamrocks @ ND!

This photo was sent to the ND GO IRISH BLOG this morning from the good folks at the  Detroit Catholic Central Swim Team.  The "Shamrocks" (ranked 5th in Michigan's high school swim team rankings) were competing in the 2nd Annual Great Lakes States Invitational at the the University of Notre Dame this weekend.  This photo was taken at the Eck Visitor Center on Friday.

Floyd MVP -- 2010 Football Awards Show

The University of Notre Dame football team tried something "new" last night -- and no it wasn't the spread offense.  Brian Kelly wanted to change up the "tried and true" banquet that every team from grade school to college has conducted to celebrate a season's end -- with something more "fast paced."  This should not come as a surprise to ND football fans!  So, last night in the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center on the Notre Dame campus -- a new tradition was created.  It's called the Football Awards Show -- and, from all accounts -- it was a huge success.  Michael Floyd was named the team's Most Valuable Player -- and ten other awards were handed out:

Most Valuable Player: junior wide receiver Michael Floyd.

Nick Pietrosante Award (most inspirational player): senior running back Robert Hughes.

Guardian of the Year Award: sophomore offensive tackle Zack Martin.

Lineman of the Year Award: senior nose guard Ian Williams.

Rockne Student-Athlete Award: senior kicker David Ruffer.

Next Man In Award: freshman quarterback Tommy Rees.

Special Teams Player of the Year: freshman wide receiver Bennett Jackson.

Offensive Newcomer of the Year: sophomore tight end Tyler Eifert.

Defensive Newcomer of the Year: freshman outside linebacker Prince Shembo.

Offensive Scout Team Player of the Year: freshman running back Cameron Roberson.

Defensive Scout Team Player of the Year: freshman linebacker Kendall Moore.

Here's a link to a replay of the 2010 Football Awards Show -- please know this about the video link.  I'm sitting here in a hotel room in Lewiston, NY (Barton Hill Hotel & Spa) -- the morning after Niagara University's 122-121 victory over Canisius -- our youngest son Brady swims for Niagara.  And, I've tried to watch the replay of the Show (with not the best internet connection) and the first ten minutes of the video is just crowd noise.  Advance the video to the ten minute mark and that's where the show starts.  The gang at UND.COM will probably realize this soon enough and it will be fixed.  SO BE PATIENT!

LINK:  2010 FOOTBALL AWARDS SHOW

2010 Football Awards Show -- TODAY!

The University of Notre Dame's "first ever" 2010 Football Awards Show is being held tonight at the DeBartolo Performing Arts Center -- and the gang at UND.COM will be providing LIVE COVERAGE!  The fun begins at 4:15 PM EST when UND.COM goes live with a Pre-Awards Show -- followed by the live coverage of Notre Dame's 2010 Football Awards Show at 5 PM EST.  Here are the links below!



LINK:  UND.COM'S -- PRE SHOW

LINK:  NOTRE DAME'S 2010 FOOTBALL AWARDS SHOW

#3 Meets The Media...

Brian Kelly's biggest "get" this off-season was a fourth year out of Mr. Michael Floyd.  You'll recall earlier this month, Michael made the decision to return to Notre Dame for his senior year -- turning down the opportunity to enter the NFL draft.  Floyd met with the assembled media today at Notre Dame -- here's a link:

LINK:  MICHAEL FLOYD'S PRESS CONFERENCE

Coach Kelly -- Today's Press Conference

University of Notre Dame head football coach, Brian Kelly -- met with the media today to discuss the 2010 football season -- prior to the team's 2010 Football Awards Show tomorrow.  Here's a link to his session today with the media:

LINK:  BRIAN KELLY -- PRESS CONFERENCE

ND Football's Awards Show -- TOMORROW!

The University of Notre Dame football team will be debuting a new event tomorrow -- The 2010 Football Awards Show!  And, our friends at UND.COM will be providing LIVE COVERAGE beginning at 4:15 PM EST with a Preview Show -- followed by the Football Awards Show at 5:00 PM EST.  Here's a link to where you can find this programming tomorrow!


LINK:  ND FOOTBALL AWARDS SHOW -- PREVIEW 

LINK:  THE 2010 FOOTBALL AWARDS SHOW

Notre Dame's Greatest Recruiting Classes!

The folks at Bleacher Report just published their own ranking of Notre Dame's ten greatest recruiting classes of all time.  I thought you'd enjoy this story -- as we sit less than two weeks away from National Signing Day.  Here's a link:

LINK:  BLEACHER REPORT:  ND'S TOP TEN RECRUITING CLASSES

A ND Alum -- Running Across America!

His name is Jeff Grabosky '05 -- and this Notre Dame alum begins a "run" across America later today!  As you'll see in the links below, Jeff has a wonderful story to tell -- and a wonderful message for our country.  The ND GO IRISH BLOG is committed to following this DOMER'S journey from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic coast.  I encourage all of you to click on the link to his blog (below) and to click on the story about the motivation behind this 3,700 mile run.  Good Luck Jeff!

LINK:   A RUN FOR PRAYER

LINK:  JEFF RUNS AMERICA -- OFFICIAL WEBSITE

Tuitt "Re-Commits" to Notre Dame!

In the last half hour -- it's been reported that FIVE-STAR Stephon Tuitt, one of the top 25 players in the country -- has re-committed to joining the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame!   If you've been following recruiting -- Tuitt announced yesterday that he was "de-committing" from the Irish and "committing" to Georgia Tech.  Well, that all changed this evening when Coach Kelly, Diaco and Martin visited with Stephon and his Mom-- at the Tuitt residence in Georgia.  See the link to the Atlanta JourNal Constitution story below.  Tuitt's commitment now means Notre Dame's current recruiting class has four defensive players who are among the TOP 100 players in the country.  A first for Notre Dame football in the past ten years!  They are as follows:

• Ishaq Williams, OLB -- Rivals has him ranked the #16 player in the country
• Stephon Tuitt, DE -- Rivals has him ranked the #22 player in the country
• Aaron Lynch, DE -- Rivals has him ranked the #28 player in the country
• Ben Councell, OLB -- Rivals has him ranked the #91 player in the country

Here's a link to Rivals Ranking of the TOP 100 High School football players in the Class of 2011:

LINK:  RIVALS TOP 100

LINK:  AJC -- TUITT SWITCHES COMMITMENT TO ND

#11 Lady Irish Beat #16 Georgetown Last Night!

Muffet McGraw's Fighting Irish beat the Hoyas 80-58 last night -- in what was probably their most impressive game of the season!  The win, the first for the Irish in five tries against ranked opponents this season, moves their record to 16-4 and 5-1 in the Big East.  Here's a link to the South Bend Tribune story along with a recap of the game, player interviews and highlights from UND.COM:

LINK:  SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE -- GAME STORY

LINK:  UND.COM -- PLAYER INTERVIEWS, HIGHLIGHTS

A Classy Move -- By A Classy Young Man...

University of Notre Dame junior, Kyle Rudolph --  who over the Christmas recess made the decision to forgo his senior season with the Irish to enter the NFL Draft -- wrote a "good-bye" letter to his fellow students that was published in the school's newspaper yesterday.  Here's a link to his letter in the Observer:

LINK:  RUDOLPH'S GOOD-BYE

Notre Dame's Favorite Son -- Retires!

University of Notre Dame alum extraordinaire -- Regis Philbin announced his retirement this morning -- after 28 years with his own show!  No set date for when his last day will be -- but, it's been rumored that it will be early to late summer.  Regis -- you've done the IRISH PROUD, all these years!!!  Notre Dame fans can't thank you enough!!  Here's a link to the announcement:

LINK:  REGIS ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT!